When students move into residence at New Brunswick’s St. Thomas University (STU) on Sept. 3, there will be a strict no-alcohol policy until the end of “Welcome Week,” even for students who are 19 or older.
It’s a policy the university has had for nearly two decades, according to STU director of communications Jeffrey Carleton, but it’s also a sign the booze-filled image commonly associated with frosh week on university campuses is getting a makeover.
“We want to make sure that Welcome Week is as smooth a transition as possible for young students, without any added pressures that could be related to alcohol use,” Carleton said about STU’s policy.
“It’s not a new ban. It’s something we’ve done for well over a decade, and we see other schools starting to do the same thing.”
Carleton University also has a history of hosting a dry frosh.
Alcohol hasn’t been served at official events at the school’s Fall Orientation since 2005, according to Jeremy Brzozowski, manager of Carleton’s Student Experience Office.
“I think alcohol is seen at some activities as a necessity for students to participate, but we don’t feel that at all in orientation,” Brzozowski said. “Being away from home or starting this new journey or chapter is a big experience for students, so by removing that layer of peer pressure, I think we’re giving students a more authentic opportunity to acclimate to the new community.”
However, a logistical concern also prompted Carleton’s switch to a dry frosh.
“In 2005, we experienced what was called the ‘double cohort,’ when Grade 13 was removed from the high school program, and essentially there were two graduating classes,” Brzozowski said.
With students entering university a year earlier, most first-year students are now only 18 years old, below Ontario’s legal drinking age of 19.
Policies at other universities across Canada vary, with schools such as the University of Ottawa (U of O) and the University of Winnipeg (U of W) still serving alcohol at licensed frosh week events.
There are three provinces in Canada where the drinking age is 18: Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec. This means most students entering university in these provinces are of legal drinking age, which has created a dilemma for universities like U of O, because it’s near the Quebec border.
“We know that students who are 18 are going to be going to Hull to drink,” said Francesco Caruso, the vice-president (communications) of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, which organizes 101 Week at the U of O. “We’d rather [have them] do it in an environment where we can monitor them.”
A number of events during 101 Week will be hosted on the Quebec side of the border, meaning that students who are 18 years or older will be able to purchase and consume alcohol.
Caruso added that all events on the Ontario side of the border will be dry.
“For each wet event that we have, we have one dry event, and all of our dry events are just as amazing and fun, if not more fun, than our wet events,” he said.
At the U of W’s frosh week, called “Roll Call,” students will be able to drink if they’re over the age of 18.
“I don’t think it’s ever been a topic of conversation to remove alcohol from Roll Call,” said Laura Garinger, the vice-president (student affairs) of the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association (UWSA). “Not everyone drinks anyway.”
Instead, the UWSA is placing their efforts on creating policy and programs to address issues commonly associated with frosh week and sexual assault.
“We’re pretty cognizant about the issues around drinking and sexual assault,” Garinger said. This involves mandatory sexual misconduct training for all incoming first-year students at the U of W, and selecting bands to perform at Roll Call that don’t use sexist, racist or homophobic language, she added.
The best way to mitigate the issues associated with alcohol consumption during frosh week is to foster a “culture of moderation,” said Ottawa Public Health (OPH) nurse Barbara O’Brien-Litten.
OPH released a statement on Aug. 25 warning students of the risks of alcohol and drug use during frosh, including increased incidents of sexual assault and overdoses.
The Ottawa Police Service will also be paying close attention to frosh in Ottawa.
“If you’re underage and you’re going to drink, be prepared to face the consequences if you get caught,” said Const. Marc Soucy. He added that police will be “highly visible” on the weekends around campuses during the first few weeks of September.
Although the taps will begin flowing again at STU after Welcome Week, St. Thomas’ Carleton said he thinks more Canadian universities will follow their lead when it comes to banning alcohol during frosh week.
“You’re starting to see a consensus on the steps you can take early on in the year that increase the likelihood that a young student is going to have a successful transition to university,” he said.
